Why do you start putting in effort for your life only after some Kpop artiste tells you to do so? The order of events seems to be a little messed up here.
I’ve answered it below but here’s in case you don’t manage to see it:
I have no disdain for Kpop—I’ve listened to it for almost a decade now and I appreciate it for what it is. Finding inspiration from Kpop idols is completely fine and understandable, like what you have done. Many Kpop creations are extremely creative, and I have shown my love for such in many of my previous posts as well.
On the other hand, I have observed that many young fans in real life seem to only take advice seriously when it comes from someone who is active in the Kpop genre, which can be about as generic as “Be good to your parents”. It just seems reversed to me, the order of things. Is not being good to your family a given, and not something that should be advocated to you by a Kpop celebrity? That’s all I meant—didn’t mean to put down anybody’s feelings or anything, but was making an observation of what I see going on in real life around me.
Oh, I do understand, then. I’ve always been of the belief that having those kinds of reinforcements/inspirations in different media are quite good, and having role models who talk about these issues is important. Of course we’d want it to be a given, for it to be just the way people think already, but I don’t see the harm in people changing their ways if it’s for good, regardless of the kickstarter of that change. A lot of meaning comes from what we uniquely draw from different mediums. If we choose to act on it, even if it seems small or petty, or should’ve been acted on for a bigger event, it’s still a good thing.
Of course, I wouldn’t suggest doing something solely because a Kpop – or any type of artist or person – said so. We should use our judgement and disciplines to decide whether or not to do it, but having the reminders are quite impactful. If young fans are being nice to their parents because a Kpop artist said to.. Yes, it’s sad that they didn’t do it before, but the result is good, and perhaps as they grow, they’ll come to appreciate the behavior for its’ own sake.
It is an interesting issue to discuss. I understand where you’re coming from, definitely.
Yeah I agree. Most Kpop people are quite good role models, but what I specifically had in mind when I wrote the post (should have been more specific) was the type of young fan I get to see a lot in real life, the sort that already has parental role models in their lives who are somehow ignored most of the time. That’s the beef I have with the issue—everything else I agree with.
As a fairly young ‘un myself, who also hasn’t really had much exposure to IRL/internet fans who do this, I confess I have not seen this exact situation, so am trying to word my thoughts knowing that I am not completely knowledgeable in this topic.
I do wish we would have more respect for our RL role models, our parents, our elders. I also believe that they should have more influence in our lives, but I know circumstances and youth culture goes against this often, which makes me sad. But given that culture, I’m glad if lessons/reminders are shown in the medium that youths are receptive to.
@greenfields Oh, ha! I was making a joke – it’s a popular phrase here among teens to tell their parents that every single life decision they make is Smart and Deliberated and will Never Change. 🙂
Inspiration can come from anywhere. Ideally, you’d have people around you motivating you, but not everyone is so lucky to have that. It would depend on each situation because I could see it being a good or bad thing.
I agree, but that’s a more mature view of things I guess. Should have been more clear in my post but it was not about fans in general—more young fans who only consider advice by Kpop idols as credible advice that should be taken.
Moreoever, is it fair to say ‘K-pop artiste’? Since I’m someone who is putting in more effort in her life since she found certain K-pop artistes, I speak from experience when I say it’s more about being moved by ‘music’. The way someone else is moved by poetry, or art. But @kumoiwa, I recommend you answer Bammsie’s question because what you say, on the face of it, merely shows your disdain of the genre that is K-pop. Would it be more acceptable if I was moved by opera?
(moved by music, in my case. Overall I agree with Jig that inspiration can come from anywhere. K-pop stars are visible celebrities, their work is not confined to their music alone)
I have no disdain for Kpop—I’ve listened to it for almost a decade now and I appreciate it for what it is. Finding inspiration from Kpop idols is completely fine and understandable, like what you have done. Many Kpop creations are extremely creative, and I have shown my love for such in many of my previous posts as well.
On the other hand, I have observed that many young fans in real life seem to only take advice seriously when it comes from someone who is active in the Kpop genre, which can be about as generic as “Be good to your parents”. It just seems reversed to me, the order of things. Is not being good to your family a given, and not something that should be advocated to you by a Kpop celebrity? That’s all I meant—didn’t mean to put down anybody’s feelings or anything, but was making an observation of what I see going on in real life around me.
I do get your point in the sense that *if* loved ones are telling them all these moral codes and they refuse to listen only until a celeb says the exact same thing, then that can seem really ridiculous. However, many kids really don’t have people who have that or at least that they respect. Yeah, it’s preferred that they listen to people they know and who know them, but if they get the same advice from a celeb and follow it then at least they’re following it (provided that it is *good* advice).
True, but most of the young fans I’ve personally seen so far seem to belong in the first category. It is good that kids who don’t have role models in real life get to have Kpop idols to look up to, since most of the time they do give pretty good advice, I’m not denying that. However, these aren’t the young fans I was talking about though, so yeah haha
Thanks for this. So your question doesn’t come from a place of disdain. 🙂 Which makes it a good question.
I’ll answer specific to myself? I’m 28, not a kid. I discovered K-pop at age 27 and yet, yes, I am putting in more effort in my life directly as a result of its influence.
Like I said, what happened was that I was moved by the music. Not all artists, just a few songs. As an easy example, I heard ‘Lie’, Jimin’s solo from BTS’ 2016 Wings album, when I was job hunting. And the lyrics immediately resonated with me. They’re about being trapped in a lie, unable to escape and losing yourself and your smile as a result.
I was job hunting, and those lyrics, the emotion of that song, hit me like a ton of bricks. Because unknowingly, I had been lying too – I was telling interviewers, my parents, myself exactly what I thought they wanted to hear, but it wasn’t the truth. I changed track immediately and started looking for an altogether different kind of job – it only took a week haha. And I had my present Job in hand.
It’d much harder for me now than it ever was. I work longer hours, I’m paid lesser – I have to build a career from scratch, but overall, it was the best career decision I’ve made. So yes, I’m putting in more effort than ever because of a song. It just happens to be a K-pop song.
On REALLY bad days, I like to.listen to BTS’ ‘Cypher Pt 4’ I love, I love, I love myself,
I know, I know, I know myself
Ya players haters you should love yourself
And sing along to it – it’s empowering. Reminds me to love myself, react calmly, not give up, not to be too harsh on myself, continue putting in the effort. It’s just a positive refrain, no different from you telling yourself ‘Im smart and kind and awesome’ in the mornings.
And so on. It just happened that what resonated with me came from kpop. I could lost songs from all over the world that I like, but the exact lyrics that over me came from kpop. I don’t think that’s a good thing or a bad thing. It just is.
As for families and people around you, ideally one wants to listen to them yes, but the aren’t always in a position to guide you well. Listening to other people has in fact nearly always led me to mistakes – because they aren’t me, and can’t put themselves in my shoes. My parents don’t know a thing about my career as a lawyer, though they do know me well personally.
So in making my own decisions, the specific lyrics and music of one K-pop group helped me identify my own true feelings, and act on them, so that I can live a life more true to myself than what society wants from me.
That’s all. It came from k-pop. It could have been a book, a play, a person – but none of them spoke these words, perhaps the presence of music helps. Who knows.
It’s cool to see how Kpop has influenced you and your life. I’m glad that it’s had a positive impact on the decisions that you’ve made for yourself, but most of the time for these younger fans I see, it’s about following the life decisions that an idol has already made for themselves. So even if they don’t fully understand the rationale behind certain things that the idols do, they kinda just do it because the idols are?
The positivity of these decisions are pretty much lost if the fans don’t understand why they’re made, to me, so it does get a bit worrying that the focus for these young fans is on following, instead of using this influence as something to help power their own informed decisions instead. Their young age really does require some parental supervision to help temper things out, imo, before the full effect of how Kpop can be positive (like it was to you) can take place.
Then your question is beat rephrased a little. You asked “you” I.e. generally, not to specific kinds of fans. And since many of us are in fact influenced in some way, the question seems aimed at us.
I suppose those teens who think they want to be kpop idols are just not thinking enough. But I have no real answer to that.
I actually meant this as a think-aloud post on my own fan page, but yeah, I guess? Apologies that you felt that this was aimed at people who have been influenced by Kpop, though I really think that fans shouldn’t be affected by people who have different observations about the landscape of Kpop fandom.
No worries. And no, my love for K-pop isn’t affected in any way by people’s observations, nor are my feelings hurt, so an apology is not needed. I’m annoyingly confident about things like this. 🙂
I think kpop has inspired me the most with Shinee. It hurt (still does) when Jonghyun died. But, seeing the rest of the members seeking happiness while mourning has really inspired me to try my best to not lose myself in sorrow or grief (and not in just regards to his death but other sorrows too). It’s okay to be sad and miss someone but it’s just as okay to still want happiness for yourself.
kumoiwa
July 27, 2018 at 8:35 AM
Why do you start putting in effort for your life only after some Kpop artiste tells you to do so? The order of events seems to be a little messed up here.
bam 🐢🐌💖~
July 27, 2018 at 8:52 AM
May I ask what you mean by that question? 🙂
kumoiwa
July 27, 2018 at 5:07 PM
I’ve answered it below but here’s in case you don’t manage to see it:
I have no disdain for Kpop—I’ve listened to it for almost a decade now and I appreciate it for what it is. Finding inspiration from Kpop idols is completely fine and understandable, like what you have done. Many Kpop creations are extremely creative, and I have shown my love for such in many of my previous posts as well.
On the other hand, I have observed that many young fans in real life seem to only take advice seriously when it comes from someone who is active in the Kpop genre, which can be about as generic as “Be good to your parents”. It just seems reversed to me, the order of things. Is not being good to your family a given, and not something that should be advocated to you by a Kpop celebrity? That’s all I meant—didn’t mean to put down anybody’s feelings or anything, but was making an observation of what I see going on in real life around me.
bam 🐢🐌💖~
July 27, 2018 at 6:18 PM
Oh, I do understand, then. I’ve always been of the belief that having those kinds of reinforcements/inspirations in different media are quite good, and having role models who talk about these issues is important. Of course we’d want it to be a given, for it to be just the way people think already, but I don’t see the harm in people changing their ways if it’s for good, regardless of the kickstarter of that change. A lot of meaning comes from what we uniquely draw from different mediums. If we choose to act on it, even if it seems small or petty, or should’ve been acted on for a bigger event, it’s still a good thing.
bam 🐢🐌💖~
July 27, 2018 at 6:21 PM
Of course, I wouldn’t suggest doing something solely because a Kpop – or any type of artist or person – said so. We should use our judgement and disciplines to decide whether or not to do it, but having the reminders are quite impactful. If young fans are being nice to their parents because a Kpop artist said to.. Yes, it’s sad that they didn’t do it before, but the result is good, and perhaps as they grow, they’ll come to appreciate the behavior for its’ own sake.
It is an interesting issue to discuss. I understand where you’re coming from, definitely.
kumoiwa
July 27, 2018 at 6:22 PM
Yeah I agree. Most Kpop people are quite good role models, but what I specifically had in mind when I wrote the post (should have been more specific) was the type of young fan I get to see a lot in real life, the sort that already has parental role models in their lives who are somehow ignored most of the time. That’s the beef I have with the issue—everything else I agree with.
bam 🐢🐌💖~
July 27, 2018 at 6:31 PM
As a fairly young ‘un myself, who also hasn’t really had much exposure to IRL/internet fans who do this, I confess I have not seen this exact situation, so am trying to word my thoughts knowing that I am not completely knowledgeable in this topic.
I do wish we would have more respect for our RL role models, our parents, our elders. I also believe that they should have more influence in our lives, but I know circumstances and youth culture goes against this often, which makes me sad. But given that culture, I’m glad if lessons/reminders are shown in the medium that youths are receptive to.
greenfields
July 27, 2018 at 7:00 PM
Re: These young fans.
Your parents are holding you accountable for things, they aren’t ‘cool people’ saying words of comfort from far away.
I think that if we’ve come from loving homes, we all grow to appreciate our parents more as we grow older.
bam 🐢🐌💖~
July 27, 2018 at 7:08 PM
@greenfields It’s not a phase, green. 😀
greenfields
July 27, 2018 at 7:10 PM
@bammsie – what is not a phase? ^^
bam 🐢🐌💖~
July 27, 2018 at 7:15 PM
@greenfields Oh, ha! I was making a joke – it’s a popular phrase here among teens to tell their parents that every single life decision they make is Smart and Deliberated and will Never Change. 🙂
greenfields
July 27, 2018 at 7:22 PM
That’s definitely not a phase. I still do it. XD
Jig
July 27, 2018 at 10:09 AM
Inspiration can come from anywhere. Ideally, you’d have people around you motivating you, but not everyone is so lucky to have that. It would depend on each situation because I could see it being a good or bad thing.
kumoiwa
July 27, 2018 at 5:12 PM
I agree, but that’s a more mature view of things I guess. Should have been more clear in my post but it was not about fans in general—more young fans who only consider advice by Kpop idols as credible advice that should be taken.
greenfields
July 27, 2018 at 10:22 AM
I agree with @jig above.
Moreoever, is it fair to say ‘K-pop artiste’? Since I’m someone who is putting in more effort in her life since she found certain K-pop artistes, I speak from experience when I say it’s more about being moved by ‘music’. The way someone else is moved by poetry, or art. But @kumoiwa, I recommend you answer Bammsie’s question because what you say, on the face of it, merely shows your disdain of the genre that is K-pop. Would it be more acceptable if I was moved by opera?
greenfields
July 27, 2018 at 10:29 AM
(moved by music, in my case. Overall I agree with Jig that inspiration can come from anywhere. K-pop stars are visible celebrities, their work is not confined to their music alone)
kumoiwa
July 27, 2018 at 5:06 PM
I have no disdain for Kpop—I’ve listened to it for almost a decade now and I appreciate it for what it is. Finding inspiration from Kpop idols is completely fine and understandable, like what you have done. Many Kpop creations are extremely creative, and I have shown my love for such in many of my previous posts as well.
On the other hand, I have observed that many young fans in real life seem to only take advice seriously when it comes from someone who is active in the Kpop genre, which can be about as generic as “Be good to your parents”. It just seems reversed to me, the order of things. Is not being good to your family a given, and not something that should be advocated to you by a Kpop celebrity? That’s all I meant—didn’t mean to put down anybody’s feelings or anything, but was making an observation of what I see going on in real life around me.
Jig
July 27, 2018 at 6:01 PM
I do get your point in the sense that *if* loved ones are telling them all these moral codes and they refuse to listen only until a celeb says the exact same thing, then that can seem really ridiculous. However, many kids really don’t have people who have that or at least that they respect. Yeah, it’s preferred that they listen to people they know and who know them, but if they get the same advice from a celeb and follow it then at least they’re following it (provided that it is *good* advice).
kumoiwa
July 27, 2018 at 6:07 PM
True, but most of the young fans I’ve personally seen so far seem to belong in the first category. It is good that kids who don’t have role models in real life get to have Kpop idols to look up to, since most of the time they do give pretty good advice, I’m not denying that. However, these aren’t the young fans I was talking about though, so yeah haha
greenfields
July 27, 2018 at 6:49 PM
Well said. ^^ and sometimes, adults need guidance too , but aren’t able to get it from the people around them.
greenfields
July 27, 2018 at 6:23 PM
Thanks for this. So your question doesn’t come from a place of disdain. 🙂 Which makes it a good question.
I’ll answer specific to myself? I’m 28, not a kid. I discovered K-pop at age 27 and yet, yes, I am putting in more effort in my life directly as a result of its influence.
Like I said, what happened was that I was moved by the music. Not all artists, just a few songs. As an easy example, I heard ‘Lie’, Jimin’s solo from BTS’ 2016 Wings album, when I was job hunting. And the lyrics immediately resonated with me. They’re about being trapped in a lie, unable to escape and losing yourself and your smile as a result.
I was job hunting, and those lyrics, the emotion of that song, hit me like a ton of bricks. Because unknowingly, I had been lying too – I was telling interviewers, my parents, myself exactly what I thought they wanted to hear, but it wasn’t the truth. I changed track immediately and started looking for an altogether different kind of job – it only took a week haha. And I had my present Job in hand.
It’d much harder for me now than it ever was. I work longer hours, I’m paid lesser – I have to build a career from scratch, but overall, it was the best career decision I’ve made. So yes, I’m putting in more effort than ever because of a song. It just happens to be a K-pop song.
On REALLY bad days, I like to.listen to BTS’ ‘Cypher Pt 4’
I love, I love, I love myself,
I know, I know, I know myself
Ya players haters you should love yourself
And sing along to it – it’s empowering. Reminds me to love myself, react calmly, not give up, not to be too harsh on myself, continue putting in the effort. It’s just a positive refrain, no different from you telling yourself ‘Im smart and kind and awesome’ in the mornings.
And so on. It just happened that what resonated with me came from kpop. I could lost songs from all over the world that I like, but the exact lyrics that over me came from kpop. I don’t think that’s a good thing or a bad thing. It just is.
greenfields
July 27, 2018 at 6:29 PM
List*
Exact lyrics that move*
As for families and people around you, ideally one wants to listen to them yes, but the aren’t always in a position to guide you well. Listening to other people has in fact nearly always led me to mistakes – because they aren’t me, and can’t put themselves in my shoes. My parents don’t know a thing about my career as a lawyer, though they do know me well personally.
So in making my own decisions, the specific lyrics and music of one K-pop group helped me identify my own true feelings, and act on them, so that I can live a life more true to myself than what society wants from me.
That’s all. It came from k-pop. It could have been a book, a play, a person – but none of them spoke these words, perhaps the presence of music helps. Who knows.
kumoiwa
July 27, 2018 at 7:43 PM
It’s cool to see how Kpop has influenced you and your life. I’m glad that it’s had a positive impact on the decisions that you’ve made for yourself, but most of the time for these younger fans I see, it’s about following the life decisions that an idol has already made for themselves. So even if they don’t fully understand the rationale behind certain things that the idols do, they kinda just do it because the idols are?
The positivity of these decisions are pretty much lost if the fans don’t understand why they’re made, to me, so it does get a bit worrying that the focus for these young fans is on following, instead of using this influence as something to help power their own informed decisions instead. Their young age really does require some parental supervision to help temper things out, imo, before the full effect of how Kpop can be positive (like it was to you) can take place.
greenfields
July 27, 2018 at 11:37 PM
Then your question is beat rephrased a little. You asked “you” I.e. generally, not to specific kinds of fans. And since many of us are in fact influenced in some way, the question seems aimed at us.
I suppose those teens who think they want to be kpop idols are just not thinking enough. But I have no real answer to that.
kumoiwa
July 28, 2018 at 3:25 AM
I actually meant this as a think-aloud post on my own fan page, but yeah, I guess? Apologies that you felt that this was aimed at people who have been influenced by Kpop, though I really think that fans shouldn’t be affected by people who have different observations about the landscape of Kpop fandom.
greenfields
July 28, 2018 at 3:47 AM
No worries. And no, my love for K-pop isn’t affected in any way by people’s observations, nor are my feelings hurt, so an apology is not needed. I’m annoyingly confident about things like this. 🙂
Jig
July 27, 2018 at 6:41 PM
Thank you for your story. That’s awesome.
I think kpop has inspired me the most with Shinee. It hurt (still does) when Jonghyun died. But, seeing the rest of the members seeking happiness while mourning has really inspired me to try my best to not lose myself in sorrow or grief (and not in just regards to his death but other sorrows too). It’s okay to be sad and miss someone but it’s just as okay to still want happiness for yourself.
greenfields
July 27, 2018 at 6:54 PM
Thanks for this reply Jig. And *hugs* just because.